The Potion Masters Daughter
by TheRandomMeh
Summary: The potions master Severus Snape had one secret that stood out among the others, one that he took to his grave. But when tragedy turns into a second chance for Shannon Snape, will the potion masters daughter step up to play and rewrite fate itself? Or will her broken heart and soul hold her back? Rated T for some violence and language.
1. Chapter 1

A young girl, no older than eleven years old had just ran through the magical barrier separating platforms nine and ten from platform nine and three quarters. She halted to a stop and quickly apologized to a middle aged man who she had nearly ran into with her cart, filled to the brim with school supply's. Not ordinary supply's though, no, wizard school supply's.

This girl was an aspiring young witch, now ready to begin her schooling. She was a little on the tall side, at around five foot two. She was a little pale to, well, a lot actually. Her skin dident quite look sickly pale, but it was when compared to the numerous freckles that dotted her cheeks. Her hair was cut at her shoulders and was quite wavy. It's color, dark brown, but in the right lighting it looked black, like her eyes, the darkest black you could imagine.

She was amazed at the spectacle in front of her, hundreds of kid's, ranging from her age, to young adults were standing on the platform, all filing into an enormous train. Even more adults were saying their goodbyes as the kid's climbed aboard, giving one last wave as they vanished into the trains depths to find a seat, and maybe even a friend or two along the way.

The girl snapped from her thoughts as a lady with long light brown hair and ocean blue eyes rested her hand on her shoulder, looking down warmly at her as gentle smiles spread across both of their faces. "Well Shannon, here it is. The Hogwarts Express. This train will take you straight to Hogwarts, it's where me and your father attended" She said and gave a sigh, shaking her head. "He would be so proud of you" She said in a gentle tone, a single tear escaping her eyes. "I'm sure you'l have a great time there"

Shannon gave a nod and smiled slightly. "Yeah, i'm sure I will to" She said and gave her mother a quick hug before turning back to her cart of supply's. "Well, I better get going, bye mom, i'll miss you!" She called back to her as she began to navigate her way through the crowd of people on the large platform. Once she had put dropped her things off to be hauled aboard, she began to make her way back up the platform, trying to find an entrance into the train. She saw people boarding ahead of her and began to quicken her pace, wanting to get on as soon as possible.

She was now running along the platform, dodging people left and right as she hurried to get aboard the mighty train alongside her. She was going quite fast, and dident have time to react when a boy stepped out from the crowd right in front of her. Shannon ran into him, knocking him of them over as she fell backwards herself.

The boy let out a quiet groan of annoyance as he scowled at her. "Watch where you're going" He snapped as he got up, giving her a slight glare. She sprung to her feet a few moments later and looked him over, returning his bitter glare. He was a bit taller than she was, and his skin tone about an average color. He had a dirty blond hair and his eyes were a light green color, almost like a hazel, but not quite.

After a moment or so she gave a small sigh, keeping her cold gaze fixated on him. "Sorry, but maybe you should be more careful as well" She sneered before walking off. Just as she went to board the train she felt a hand clasp her shoulder and she turned around, seeing the boy she had just ran into. _What the bloody hell does he want?_ She thought bitterly to herself as several people behind them began to get annoyed with them, as they were blocking the way in.

He gave a sigh and turned to the small crowd behind them that was beginning to complain at them. "Oh would you all shut up?" He hissed and several people fell quiet with other's kept at their grumbling. He gave a sigh and turned to Shannon, releasing his grip on her. "Go ahead. I need to talk to you, but apparently these people can't wait three bloody seconds" He said, turning his head as he spoke the last part of his sentence, glaring at the growing crowd behind them.

Shannon gave a nod, eyeing him suspiciously as she moved inside, the boy following her in. As they walked along the trains small walkways he gave a sigh. "Some people just don't know how to be patient" He grumbled to himself as they walked. Shannon dident know when or where to stop along the train, and stopping in general dident seem like a good option since quite there were quite a few people behind them.

The boy, not caring about the people behind them, stopped abruptly, causing several people to bump into each other. He grabbed Shannon's shoulder and pulled her back towards him as the crowd began to complain again, obviously annoyed at them for holding up the steady flow of people traversing within the train and the flow of people boarding. "In here" He said, sliding open an empty compartment door and lightly pushing her inside, stepping in himself a few seconds later. The door slid closed behind them and he sighed as the people passed their compartment, ignoring the numerous glares they received.

She looked oddly at him, why would this boy, someone she barely knew, and only from bumping into him, simply approach her like this. What did he want with her? _What's so important about me?_ She thought to herself and gave a sigh, taking out a pocket watch. "What do you want?" She said in a bland tone as she glanced at the time, smiling ever so slightly to herself.

Her pocket watch meant a lot to her, it was made out of silver, and was charmed to change with the timezone. It was quite old, but she dident care that everyone else seemed to have digital wrist watches. Not only was her watch special because it was old, but because it was a gift from her father, who most people knew as Severus Snape, former potions master and headmaster at Hogwarts. He had placed a photo of their family in it, hidden behind the clock face for her to always remember him incase he died. And die he did, killed by the dark lords pet only a few short hours before the end of the last war.

Her mother had told her not to speak of her relation to him, as many disliked him and might treat them the same as they had him, badly, some even wanting to kill him and rejoicing at the news of his death. They had found a way around her name though, and instead of registering her as Shannon Snape at Hogwarts, gave her the name Shannon Epans, which was actually just Snape reversed.

Shannon had brought this up many times with her mother, suggesting that using her maiden name of Jones, which she had long since abandoned, would be a better choice. But her mother politely refused her suggestions, saying that although there were few, some knew about her marriage to be with him and that her former name of Jones would be to obvious. Another thing she would often counter her with would be that no one would look for something hidden in plain sight, which Shannon did have to admit, was quite clever.

While most smiled at her fathers demise, some mourned him, like her mother and a few others who actually knew and believed the truth. Very few people understood how much of a hero he actually was, and how much he had to sacrifice so others could live. Shannon looked up to him quite a bit, not just because he was her father, but because of the great thing's he had done.

Shannon glanced up as the boy gave a small, but still audible sigh, and began to speak again. "I just wanted to apologize properly. It was rude of me to simply snap at you like that, I should know better that to act in such a way" He drawled and rolled his eyes at her. "Are you even listening to me?" He said, a hint of bitterness in his tone.

Shannon gave a small nod as she closed her watch and tucked it safely away inside of her robe pocket. "Of course I am. I asked you a question, only a fool would let their mind wander so far as to lose interest in the answer they had asked for" She said in a monotone and gave a sigh. "Well, thank you for apologizing. I'm glad you arnt a judgmental idiot like so any I know" She scoffed, giving a slight chuckle. She was referring to some of the boy's around Spinners end, who usually teased her for her odd appearance, such as her slightly hooked nose and pale skin color. She dident really care about what they said though, she just found them annoying and arrogant beyond her comprehension.

A few moments later a slight smile dawned on her face and held out her hand. "Shannon Epans, pleased to meet you" She said, her tone a little warmer than before. She figured that having someone like this boy as a friend could have it's advantages seeing as he wasent numb minded. Not only that, but she needed a few friends seeing as she dident have any other than a self proclaimed friend, a muggle girl who lived a few houses down from her home on Spinners End. Not that she really listened to her anyways, she was quite annoying as well.

The boy gave a nod and took her hand, giving it a firm shake. "Jayden Wood" He said, a slight amount of cheerfulness in his tone as a small grin spread across his face. She dident seem to bad, although she definitely had a bitter side to her. _Probably going to be a Slytherin._ He thought, his grin beginning to fade into a slight smirk.

Both Shannon and Jayden looked up as a knock sounded on the compartment door as it opened slightly, revealing another boy who poked his head in, smiling slightly as he glanced over at Jayden. "If it's alright with your friend here, may I sit?"


	2. Chapter 2

Jayden smiled back at him and glanced over at Shannon. "It's fine by me, what do you think Shannon?" He said and gestured to the boy in the doorway a few moments later. "This is Stan, he's a good friend of mine, and don't worry, he won't cause any trouble" He said as Stan gave a small nod.

Shannon looked this new boy up and down, eyeing him up. He looked to be a little taller than Jayden was, from what she could tell with Jayden sitting down that was. He had brown hair with a slight red tinge to it. Unlike most people with red or reddish hair, Stan's skin was a little on the tanned side, but not that much more than Jayden's skin was. His eyes were light blue, like ice. But they were far from cold, no, they were warm, dancing with emotions as they sat behind the pair of round glasses he wore.

She kept her gaze fixed on him, trying to figure him out, to see if he was hiding anything. _He seems alright, and he dosent look the type to hide anything._ She thought after a few moments, not drawing her eyes away from him. _Why not? It would be good to have someone like him around, especially since he's Jayden's friend. _Shannon gave a nod and gestured for him to come inside. "Shannon Epans, nice to meet you" She said, a slight amount of warmth to her tone.

He returned her nod and stepped inside, closing the compartment door behind him. He gave a small smile and sat down next to Jayden. "Stan Evans, it's a pleasure" He said warmly. She dident seem all that bad, much better than some people he knew. If anything, she just seemed to have a bitter side to her. _She's not much different that Jayden, I wouldn't be surprised to see her in Slytherin._ He thought as the train gave a loud hiss and lurched forward a little as the brakes were released.

Shannon looked out the window, searching for her mother among the crowd of other adults. Eventually, she found her and waved her final goodbye as the train slowly moved out of the station, beginning it's long journey to Hogwarts. As she watched her mothers vanishing figure her smiled faded into a slight frown._ I haven't forgotten my promise. I'll make you proud of me, and make you happy again._ She thought as the platform vanished from her sight, the train beginning to speed along the tracks to it's destination.

Her promise, the promise she had made to herself when she was still a young girl at only five years of age. The promise to make her mother happy again. For as long as she could remember, her mother had always seemed off. When compared to the two or three other women she knew, she seemed unhappy. It was like something was missing from her, like she was dead inside.

It bothered Shannon quite a bit, as she would often hear her quietly weeping in the small sitting room downstairs. Of course, she had never admitted to it, even thought she did know Shannon knew about it. She knew exactly why she cried as well, it was over the death of the one person she held closer to herself than anyone else, the death of the man she loved.

Shannon of course felt saddened over her fathers death, even though she had never met him, as she was only seven months old when he had perished. It was hard, trying to live without someone so important. Yes it was hard for Shannon at times, but she knew it was even harder for her mother. She had loved him more than anything. Enough to birth his child and agree to marry him.

She just couldn't understand it, how so many people could be so foolish. The reason their family as torn apart was because of that stupid war, and what did it prove in the end anyways? Nothing, so what was the point of fighting over something so pointless? That whole war had started over blood purity, which was absolutely stupid. It shouldn't matter if you're half blood, pure blood, or even muggle born, it was pointless to fight over it.

Shannon let her thoughts fade away as she stared out the compartment window. She knew that no matter how much she thought about it, she would never understand. After awhile Shannon looked back over at Jayden and Stan, who were having a conversation of their own. She gave a small sigh under her breath and decided to speak up. "So. Do either of you know what Hogwarts is like?" She asked in a dull tone.

Stan turned his head as she spoke up and gave a nod. "Yes, me and Jayden are both second years" He said, giving a nod to Jayden, who smiled proudly to himself. Stan rolled his eyes and turned back to Shannon. "As for what Hogwarts is like-" He dident get any farther in his sentence, as Jayden spoke up, cutting him off.

"Hogwarts is a large castle that stands next to a lake, it also runs partially underneath it" He said, still smiling pridefully to himself as he spoke.

Stan gave a sigh under his breath as he gave a dull glance over at him. "Thank you Jayden for your description of the castle, but I believe that she meant what it's like to be there, not what it looks like" He said and resisted the urge to chuckle as Jayden glared down at the floor, looking quite embarrassed with himself. _He always was a ladies man, despite only being in second year_. Stan thought and continued with his explanation a few moments later.

"Like I was saying, as for what Hogwarts is like, it's rather hard to describe. Some find it quite homely, while others think that living in a broom closet would be a better experience" He said and kept his gaze fixed on Shannon, waiting a few moments before continuing incase she had any questions. "There are four houses at Hogwarts, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. Depending on what house you get sorted into, you could either end up living in one of the towers, or in the deepest depths of the Dungeons, so what Hogwarts is like depends on your house and what your tastes are" He finished, giving a small smile. "Any questions?"

Shannon gave a slow nod. "I see, and yes. What do Ravenclaw and Gryffindor represent? I know Sytherin is ambition and cunning, while Hufflepuff is loyalty and kindness, so what are the others?" She asked, feeling a little dumb at asking such a question. But, it was probably better to get it answered now rather then later what she would really seem numb minded.

Stan opened his mouth to speak, but turned to Jayden instead. "Care to explain this part?" He asked, knowing full well Jayden would probably interrupt him again. It just seemed less of a hassle to have him explain rather than get cut off again. Plus, he would probably stop giving the floor a bone chillingly cold glare if he had a chance to redeem himself from his last attempt of explaining things.

Jayden looked up and gave a small sigh under his breath before beginning to explain. At least Stan had given him a chance. "Gryffindor represents bravery, as for Ravenclaw, that would be intelligence" He said, pausing for a few moments. "Slytherin house is what I call family, as for Stan here, well, he's a Ravenclaw" He chuckled as he pointed to his friend sitting next to him.

Shannon nodded as Jayden went on, smiling very slightly to herself. "Okay, thanks for explaining. I just thought it would be better to ask about this before long" She said, trailing off at the end, feeling a little embarrassed.

Stan shook his head lightly and smiled a little, trying to resist the urge to chuckle. "We all start somewhere, and no one knows everything off the bat. It's only natural for you to have a few questions" He said reassuringly a Jayden gave a nod, a faint smile appearing on his face.

After half a minuet or so of silence, Shannon gave a nod. "Yeah, you're right" She said and smiled a little. "So, do you mind if I ask anything else?" She questioned, not wanting to be a bother to her newly made friends.

Stan and Jayden exchanged glances before nodding at each other. "Go right ahead" Jayden said as he leaned back in his seat, knowing Stan would answer most of the questions she asked them anyways.

Her smile spread a bit wider and she began to ask question upon question, feeling less and less nervous about her new life at Hogwarts with each question her friends answered.


	3. Chapter 3

The train began to slow down, almost to a crawling pace as it slowly pulled up to it's destination. Shannon, Jayden, and Stan all snapped from their conversation and looked at the large castle looming in the distance. Although it was a fair distance away, she could clearly see it's massive size. "So, that's Hogwarts" She said in a hushed voice, still staring out the window at the distant school. "It's bigger than I imagined" She said as she stood up, her gaze flicking from the building to her newly made friends. "Well, I suppose we should get going" She said as the chatter of other student's began to pass them by.

Jayden gave a nod and smiled. "Yeah, let's go. We can't have you miss the sorting ceremony after all" He said and opened the compartment door, gesturing out into the trains walkway. "After you" He said, giving a slight smirk.

Shannon chuckled slightly and rolled her eyes as she walked out of the compartment. Stan had told her, much to Jayden's annoyance, that he was typically like that, always trying to show of for the ladies or stand out somehow to get noticed by them. She had laughed a bit when he had told her, which had only made Jayden's face go an even brighter red. She apologized afterwards, and luckily he seemed to have shaken it off like nothing.

_Unlike those stupid Muggle boys back home._ She thought and couldn't help but laugh a little to herself as she stepped out of the train, remembering how spineless they were at times. A cold gust of wind, carrying the scent of decaying leaves with it blew by and she took in a deep breath. The scent of fall, it was lovely to her, along with the vibrant colors of the leaves as everything prepared itself for the white chill of winter.

It reminded of her even more of her home on Spinners End. Fall was always wonderful there, especially so at the old park not to far from her house where the ground was always covered by the bright colorful leaves. Winter was even more beautiful, the river froze over and frail sheets of snow covered the ground, reflecting the small amount of light that would seep through the clouds.

Stan and Jayden stepped out a few moments after Shannon. Stan gave a small smile to himself and stepped up to her. "Well Shannon, we'll be seeing you there" He said, a loud voice sounding a few moments later.

"All first years over here!" A rather large man called out in quite a noticeable accent as he gestured for all of the first years to come over to him.

Shannon looked at him for a few seconds, a bit puzzled by this unusually large man who was singling out the first years. "Who's he?" She asked as she looked back to Stan and Jayden, a questionable expression on her face.

It was Jayden who spoke up first, a cheerful note in his voice. "That would be Hagrid, he's the Care of Magical Creatures Professor, and also the nicest out of them" He smiled, the three of them now looking over at him.

"It's also his job to take the first years across the lake, it's a tradition here at the school" Stan added in as the giant like man looked in their direction, smiling.

After a moment or so, he walked over and gave a chuckle. "Hello there Stan, Jayden" He said, nodding to both of them before looking down at Shannon. "Who's this? A new friend of yours?" He asked.

Shannon looked up at him blankly for a few seconds, looking him over. She gave a smile shortly after and nodded, holding out her hand. "Shannon Epans, nice to meet you" She said, a slight happy note to her voice as she spoke.

Hagrid looked down curiously at her. That gaze, he knew it from somewhere, those coal black eyes. . . He shrugged it off and took her hand, giving it a rough shake, forgetting about his own strength. "Rubeus Hagrid" He said, his cheerful smile returning. "Well Shannon, we had better get going. We can't be late for the sorting ceremony now" He said as he walked off towards the first years who were beginning to gather into a crowd.

She gave a nod and followed behind Hagrid, turning and giving a wave to Stan and Jayden before vanishing into the crowd of other first years. Most of them were chatting among themselves, but Shannon stayed silent as they went down to the lake and entered the boats. She did get a few odd glances from some of them for staying so silent, as if the very thought of it was alien. She dident really care all the much though, she actually liked being felt alone, it gave her time to think, not that she thought about much anyways.

The boats glided almost effortlessly over the lake, almost as if they were flying. After several minuets, Shannon became aware of something moving along side them, just underneath the surface. She glanced down into the dark lake and saw that their was a giant squid swimming along side the boats. She smiled slightly to herself at the sight of the creature, she found the squid interesting and she wondered how such a giant creature could of gotten into the lake.

After a couple of minuets the squid swam off, deeper into the lakes depths. Shannon wondered why it swam away, but got her answer a few moments later when the boats began to slow and the docks were in sight. One by one the boats docked and everyone began to file off of them and up the docks. Hagrid stayed at the back of the group, talking with a couple of the other first years as they walked towards the castle looming overhead.

At the end of the docks they were greeted by a tall and rather thin wizard with graying black hair, although the grey bits were almost unnoticeable. He had pale blue eyes with light green flecks scattered within them. He looked to be fairly young, around his late twenties or so, which only made the dark grey parts of his hair even odder.

Everyone was talking with one another, and after a few moments or so, the wizard let out a small grunt. "Quiet down!" He called over the chatter and the talking faded away as the students turned to face him, most of their expressions fading from happy, to dull and almost fearful. "Thank you" He said in a flat tone and swept his gaze over the group.

"Welcome to Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. Follow me, I will show you inside" The wizard, who Shannon presumed to be a professor said and turned around, his green robes blowing behind him as he swiftly walked towards the school. "And don't wander off!" He called back at the group as they followed him, eventually entering the school and down the silent corridors, save for their walking and the odd bits of chatter here and there.

After a small amount of walking the group began to draw closer to some kind of noise. As they slowly got closer to the noises origin, Shannon could begin to make out laughter from it. Eventually, the laughter drowned out the groups small amount of chatter and they entered a huge room, four large tables stretching along it's length. "This is the Great Hall" The wizard said as they walked towards the back of the room, his voice almost inaudible among everyone else's. "This is where the sorting will be done, and where you will eat your meals every day" He said in a tired voice as they reached the back of the room where a stool and hat sat in front of another large table that ran the width of the room, where several adults, who Shannon also assumed to be professors, were sitting.

After a few moments, the room slowly grew quiet and the wizard looked over dully at the hat, the wrinkles in it resembling a face of sorts. It was then that the hat began to speak. The first years watched the hat, some with amazed faces, others wore normal expressions, and a few looked to be growing impatient.

"I may be dusty and dirty. Ragged, patched, and resewn. But don't let my looks fool you, for I am as good as new"

"The four founders left me here, to find you a good home. For here at Hogwarts School, there is a founder in everyone of you. And I have always known, what one is inside of you"

"For bravery, nerve, and chivalry, Gryffindor is where you will go. Those brave, kind, and hearty folk, do not know the meaning of woe"

"Or perhaps you will be in Ravenclaw, where knowledge and wisdom rein. This house's students are known best, for the great wit that they retain"

"Those who have good hearts, and are also fast working and loyal. Hufflepuff is the home for you, as you are unafraid of toil"

"And now we come to Slytherin, the power hungry snake. Ambition and cunning are what set them apart, for they have a greater stake"

"Now come along and sit down, place me on your head. There's nothing I cannot see, that is inside your head"

As the hat finished, the wizard spoke up again. "The sorting will now begin" He drawled and sighed, taking out a list and beginning to read off of it. One by one, the first years began to step up to the stool and place the hat on their head. After a few moments, or in a couple of cases so far, minuets, the hat would yell out a house's name and a table would burst into cheering as the new student would sit down at their table, waiting for the others to be sorted.

Eventually, the wizard came to the letter E and moments seemed to pass by even slower than that had only a minuet or so ago. "Epans, Shannon" The wizard called after that seemed to be a millennium, and Shannon walked up to the stool and sat down, the sorting hat being placed on her head a few moments later.

Shannon felt a slight tingling feeling inside of her head and she began to hear the hat speak, although no one else seemed to hear it. _Whats going on?_ She thought and heard a voice answer her. _"I am using a magic called Legilimency"_ The hat said inside of her head as it looked through her mind, searching for the houses qualities.

After a minuet or so, the hat had narrowed down two possible houses, although they were both very different. The first choice was Slytherin, as this girl was quite ambitious, and fairly cunning. The other choice however, was the last house out of the four that hat would of suspected, Hufflepuff. She had a very kind heart and was quite willing to put others first. The hat thought about it's decision for a few moments which quickly turned to minuets, and before either of them knew it, seven minuets had passed them by, effectively causing a hatstall.

Knowing that there were many more students to sort, the at moved on from traits, and into bloodlines, searching to see if perhaps any one else in her family had been sorted into either of the two houses. The hat found a memory of a lady, one it remembered quite well. Sara Cloue Jones, oddly enough, she was from a Gryffindor bloodline, although she had been much better suited for Hufflepuff. But, that would explain this girls slight amount stubbornness.

It began to look further into her mind and eventually came across something it hadn't seen in nearly forty years. This girl was part of the Prince family, a well known Slytherin blood line, when they were a more noted pure blood family that was. He had thought that they had died out, as the last know Prince heir was Severus Snape, and he was dead, he had been for ten years so how did this girl have Prince blood in her?

Wait, ten years. . . The hat quickly began to skim through her mind, disregarding anything that wasent related the the Prince family. Eventually, the hat came to it's answer. Severus _had_ gotten together with someone, Sara. This child belonged to Severus Snape and Sara Jones! _"I dident know that Snape had even gotten with someone, never mind have a child!"_ The hat said in her mind.

Shannon felt her heart skip a beat, the hat had found out. . . _"You're not going to tell anyone, right?"_ She asked, hoping that the hat would keep it's mouth, well, fold closed about this. _"Yes, yes, of course. I know that most do not respect your father, no matter how noble of a man he actually was. Do not fear, your secret is safe with me"_ It said and a few moments later pulled out of her mind. **"Slytherin!"**The hat exclaimed and one of the table burst into cheering, clapping as the hat was removed from her head and she walked over to the table.

She looked around for a seat and quickly found Jayden as he slid over to make room for her next to him. "Congratulations Shannon" He said, a smirk playing on his lips. "You made it into Slytherin, the best house there is" He said proudly and a few of the other Slytherin's shook their heads in agreement.

Shannon gave a chuckle. "Well, I almost dident. The hat was considering about putting me into Hufflepuff" She smiled and a few of the others looked oddly at her. She raised one of her eyebrows at this, wondering what was so bad about being in Hufflepuff since it was pretty much the house of kindness.

Jayden gave a sigh and looked over dully at her. "We don't exactly get along well with the Puffs" He said and laughed a little a few moments later. "Then again, no one really get's along with us" He mused and about half of the table burst into laughter.

"But that's their problem, they just can't take being in a lower class than us!" One of the others said and once again, laughter spouted from the table.

Sometime later, the sorting was finished and an older witch stepped up, smiling as she began to speak. "Welcome everyone to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" She announced and most of the hall's residence cheered delightfully. "I'm glad to see such a turn out of new student's this year, and I wish you all the best in your classes!" She said gave a single clap, food appearing on each table along with utensils, goblets, and plates.

Everyone dug into the food grabbing a little bit of this and that, piling their plates up before beginning to eat away at the feast. Jayden turned to Shannon and raised his goblet, smiling. "Cheers" He said and glanced over at the table behind them, which the Ravenclaw's occupied. Stan had turned to face them, and was holding up his goblet as well.

She smiled and brought her's up. Not wanting to spill and of their drinks, she gently tapped it into Jayden and Stan's. "Cheers"


	4. Chapter 4

A small amount of light filtered through the greenish water and through the window's, into the Slytherin Common room. It was Monday morning, and already Shannon was up, sitting on one of the Common room's many dark green chairs as she waited patiently for her pocket watch to strike half past seven. She had been awake for almost an hour now, and it had given her plenty of time to get ready for the day ahead.

She had been lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling for most of the night in anticipation for the days to come. She had tried to get to sleep fairly early that night, going to bed a few minuets after the Prefects had spoken to them and told them how thing's would generally carry out at Hogwarts. It dident seem all that different than what she pictured a muggle school to be like, minus the magic of course.

Finally, she snapped out of her thoughts and looked down at the small watch in her hand. It read a few minuet past seven thirty, but it wasent like she was running late or anything, classes did start until half past eight after all, she had plenty of time left. Regardless, she stood up and decided to head out of the Common room anyways, beginning her retreat down the dark, lonely Dungeon corridors, heading for the Great Hall for breakfast. The Slytherin Prefects had told them last night about the curfew and when the hall would be open in the mourning in case they were to wake up early. Both happened at seven o'clock exactly, but she knew better than to marching down the halls that early in the mourning. Even though the curfew would have ended by then, she could still get into trouble by some of the nastier professors, luckily there wernt many, but there was Professor Reed.

The Prefects had told them about who to watch out for, and one of the professors they had mentioned was Professor Reed. He was the man who had led them from the docks last night. He was actually the Defense against the Dark Arts teacher here at Hogwarts, and also one of the worst teachers you could get in trouble with. Even though he was the head of Slytherin House, he dident care all that much about them, and had absolutely no problem handing out detentions to them. In fact, the older kids had said he was quite hard on Slytherin's, and naturally, most of them speculated that it was because he dident want any more of them to become dark wizards or witches.

Despite this however, no one could really blame him for treating his house a little harshly. Most Slytherin's actually did become dark wizards and witches, but the other houses had their fair share of bad students as well. The only reason Slytherin was mentioned the most was because they had been the house to turn out the majority of most recent dark wizards.

Shannon dident really see anything wrong with turning out a generation or three of people interested in the dark arts though. It wasent the house that determined one's destiny, it was the choices one made that determined who they were. Actions spoke louder than words, something her family knew all to well. _Why couldn't dad of just left them? We might be together if he did._ She thought grimly to herself as she entered the hall and absentmindedly sat down at the Slytherin table.

Sometime later, she felt something hit her left shoulder a few times. It dident hit her very hard, it was more like a small tap than anything, but she ignored it and kept staring at the empty plate in front of her, not making any attempt to grab some food for herself. She had never ate much during breakfast anyways. A few moments later, it happened again, a few small taps on her shoulder. It was beginning to annoy her now, and he raised her right hand, trying to brush whatever it was away, even though the object that kept hitting her dident rest on her shoulder She could feel it lightly hit her again, once, and now a second time. She raised her hand and grabbed the thing that had been hitting her.

"Shannon" A voice said, and she snapped from her thoughts. It was then that she realized that the object in question was someone's hand. She looked behind her and her eyes settled on a small pair of round glasses, a familiar face sitting behind them.

Stan was standing behind her, a worried expression on his face as he looked down at her. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked after a few moments, hoping his friend was okay. She had been sitting there for the past fifteen minuets or so, looking at her plate with a ghostly look on her face. He hoped that she wasent sick. Of course, something could be troubling her, and he might not be able to help, but he wanted to make sure just in case.

She gave a slow nod and let go of the few fingers she still had a loos grip on. "Sorry, i'm just thinking is all" She said, a small smile crossing her face a few moments later. "So, when do we get our schedules?"

As if on cue, Professor Reed, followed by three other professors came into the hall, each carrying a stack of paper. With a quick flick of his wand, the papers flew from Reed's hands and began to float to their proper owners along the Slytherin table. Stan caught his as it flew towards him and gave it a look over. "What classes do you have?" He asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Shannon quickly skimmed over the schedule in front of her before giving a reply. "Herbology" She droned, slightly disappointed that she dident have Charms or something else exciting first. Other than learning about what plant did what in Herbology, she couldn't see much fun in learning about dull old plants. They dident even do anything interesting, all they really did was sit there.

Jayden strode over, a smile on his face as he quickly ducked down to look at Shannon's schedule. "Herbology huh?" He said, pulling himself back upright and giving a slight chuckle. "Well, at least you don't have History of Magic, Professor Binns put's everyone to sleep, literally" He smiled and glanced over at Stan. "What about you Mr. Perfect grades?" Jayden smirked.

He rolled his eyes slightly at Jayden's remark and smiled slightly at his friend. "Potions" He said and gave a sigh under his breath. "Even though I like the subject, Slughorn takes to long for my liking, and everyone else's really" Stan said in a dull tone. "And you?"

Jayden shrugged. "Haven't looked yet" He said and glanced down at the paper he was holding and frowned. "Same as you, Slughorn's class first" He said, giving a grunt. "To be honest, no matter what everyone says, id rather have the old professor than this clown" He said, sitting down next to Shannon.

"You mean Professor Snape?" Stan asked, taking a seat across from them at his own table. "I don't know Jayden, you've heard what he did, right?" He said questionably, his voice dropping down as he leaned a bit closer to his friends.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, murdered Dumbledore or something like that" He muttered. "But I still bet he would of been a ton better than old Sluggy" Jayden said, giving a quiet laugh to himself.

Stan gave a shrug. "I'm not so sure I would enjoy having a Death Eater as a professor" He lowered his voice a bit more, wondering if perhaps anyone was listening to them, although he knew that everyone else was most likely wrapped up in their own conversations. "No matter what some people say about him"

Jayden rolled his eyes, he couldn't agree more with him on that part. "Yeah, I know, it's crazy. Him, a spy? And even though I don't support either of them by a long shot, who in their right mind would spy on-" He glanced around before finishing. "-Voldemort" He said in a hushed voice so only they could hear him say _his_ name. Even though he had been gone for over ten years, people were still frightened about him. The mere mention of his name was enough to scare some people.

Stan nodded in agreement, the very though of it was absurd to him. Voldemort had been the most powerful dark wizard, perhaps even the most powerful wizard in recent history. Of course, he had been defeated, but the cost had been very high, many losing their lives in the fighting. He glanced over at Shannon, who had visibly gone paler, even though her skin seemed to be fairly pale anyways. "Shannon?" He asked, his worried expression returning to him.

Shannon had been staying quiet the whole time. They were talking about him, her father. They dident like him, thought he was nothing but evil, what if they were to find out? _No, they won't find out, they can't find out. . ._ She thought, but snapped from her thoughts and was once again met by her friends concerned face. "Yeah?" She replied, knowing that her silence had most likely caught her friend's attention.

Jayden put his hand on her right shoulder and looked at her, a similar expression on his face as his gaze swept over her a few times. She dident look so good, not at all. "Are you feeling alright?" He asked. "I mean, you've been awfully quiet, and you don't look to good" He said, hoping she wasent feeling sick or anything. He had been sick the first day of his classes, and although he had taken a potion, he had felt horrible for hours, and his classes seemed to stretch on for ever.

She gave a swift nod after a few moments and took her watch out to check the time. "I had better get going" She said and got up before either of them could answer and walked away. Awhile later, after she was well into the hallways, Shannon felt a slight pain in her chest. She sighed and put her hand to her gut, but felt something in between her chest and hand. Her pocket watch. She decided to chance a look at the time, eight o'clock exactly. _Why did I leave without eating anything?_


	5. Chapter 5

"-As so, Mandrakes can prove to be quite deadly, and-" Professor Sprout was droning on about the days lesson, Mandrakes. But, of course, today was only for explanation, they wernt actually allowed to pull any of the Mandrakes out of the ground yet. They were supposed to be listening and taking notes, but Shannon wasent really paying attention, it just seemed boring to her. _At least class will be over soon._ She thought and gave a sigh under her breath as she pretended to listen to her professors rambling. About ten minuets later, Professor Sprout let them go and it was time for her next class, which was Charms. She had been looking forward to it, as she might actually learn something useful in it. But, fate only have it this way, she was wrong.

Not only had their professor been late for class by ten minuets, but when she did actually arrive, they had done nothing but get an explanation on what the Charms course would be focused on for the next month or so. Why couldn't they learn anything useful? It may have been the first day of classes, but did everyone of the classes have to consist of explanations on what they would be doing? It was absolutely pointless, to her at least. But she dident exactly think anyone found these useless speeches helpful.

Letting out a quiet groan as the Charms class was dismissed, Shannon stood and quickly left the classroom, not really looking forward to her next few classes. As she began to walk down the halls, she pulled out her schedule to see what her next class was. "Herbology, Charms, . . Great, just perfect" She muttered in a bitter tone as she turned around and began to walk towards her destination.

Entering the classroom a minuet or so late, she took a seat and rested her head on her hands as she lazily leaned onto her desk. "Miss Epans" The professor said in a cold tone as he walked over to her desk, giving her a dull look of disapproval as he looked down at her. "You're late" Reed spat, his already bitter gaze settling into a glare.

She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. _Thanks for pointing out the obvious, idiot._ She thought coldly to herself as she glanced up at the professor, resisting the urge to return his chillingly cold gaze. "I already know that professor. But class has just started, I dident interrupt anything now did I?" Shannon calmly said as she looked up curiously at her Professor.

He kept his gaze locked onto her, giving her a quick look over before turning around and walking back to the front of the classroom. _That girl had better watch her tongue around me._ He thought, clearing his throat to get the attention of several students who had begun to talk. Once all was quiet again, he began to speak. "I am your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Reed" Sweeping his gaze over the class, he slowly began to walk down the center of the class, looking from student to student as he did.

"I will be expecting your best behavior in this classroom, and your undivided attention as well" He spat, giving a glare to a couple of Gryffindor students before passing them by. "That means that no one will talk without permission, there will be no note passing, and all in all, no interruptions what so ever" The professor finished and gave one final look over the class, resting his gaze on Shannon briefly before returning to the front. "Now then, on with today's lesson"

She rolled her eyes as he turned his back to the class, their undivided attention. _I'll be spending a few nights in here for sure._ She thought and tried to look like she was listening as he paused in his talking and turned back to glare at a few students who could be heard quietly chuckling to themselves. "Ten points from Ravenclaw" He snapped before starting to go over the classes uses, what they would learn, and other irrelevant things. Luckily, Professor Reed's little speech dident take up the whole class like the other professors rants had.

When he finished his talking, he flicked his wand at his desk, and papers began to float over to each student. As the sheet landed in front of her, Shannon realized that it was actually a test, and not just a simple worksheet. "This test is to see if anyone of you actually posses any knowledge about the Dark Arts and how to defend yourself against them" He paused and looked over the class to see if anyone was going to speak up, but when he got no fuss, he began to talk again. "I expect no one in here to get a perfect score, in fact, I expect most of you to fail this test. However, despite that, this test will affect your mark, so I suggest you try and put some effort into it. Begin"

The room was silent, save for the quiet sound of people scribbling that rebounded around the room's vast interior. Some of there questions seemed absolutely ridiculous. They were first years, how on earth were they supposed to know how to distract a Werewolf, or what is needed to cast a Patronus. Now that she thought about it, she dident even know what a Patronus was, so how did Professor Reed expect her to write about it? _This is nothing short of pure and utter stupidity._ Although she only thought it, the words were itching to be said, clawing at her will as she tried to answer the test's obviously advanced questions.

"Five minuets" The professors words rang out suddenly, echoing in the room for a few moments before fading away as the soft murmur of writing could once again be heard. Shannon began to quickly look over her sheet, she wasent even half way done, and as a panicked thought came to her head, she flipped the single page over. It was double sided, with even more unanswerable questions crammed onto the back. "Bloody hell, this is idiotic" She muttered under her breath, not really thinking about what she had just murmured.

Her breath got caught in her throat as Professor Reed whipped around, eyeing her like a hawk eyeing its prey. "What did you say Miss Epans?" He sneered as he slowly stalked over to her desk, stopping in front of it and leaning forward a bit as he gazed down at her. _Caught like a mouse in a trap. just like the little annoyance you are._ He could barely keep himself from smirking as the words formed in his head. From what he had seen of her so far, she really was nothing more than a pathetic little rat in his eyes.

"Nothing, sir" She replied, trying to look calm, even though she was sweating on the inside. Surly he couldn't of hear her, right? She wasent really thinking about what she had spoken, but she hadn't said it very loud, or at least she thought.

Reed was still staring down at her, his eyes locked onto her as a slight amount of rage coursed through him, racing through his veins. How dare she mock his teaching methods. She was only a student, and a first year at that. She was a far cry form even considering becoming a professor, never mind having enough knowledge to criticize one. He stayed silent for a few moments, glaring down at her as he began to think about a suitable punishment. _She's lucky i'm her head of house, or id be taking points for this._ "Detention for three days" He growled in a deathly low tone before snatching up her paper and stalking off, collecting the rest of the students tests a couple of minuets or so later and dismissing them.

As she slowly walked down the near deserted corridors of the massive school, she let out a groan. Detention, and on the first day as well. _This is just wonderful. Mom's sure going to be proud of me._ She let out an angry grunt and began to walk down the hallways faster, just wanting to get the rest of the day over.

Suddenly, her feet came up from under her, and she fell forwards, tumbling down the last few steps. Groaning, she sat up, hand on her head as a couple of older Slytherin's passed her by. "Could this day get any worse?" She muttered as he picked up her small supply bag, and noticed that a clear liquid was dripping out of the bottom of it, her water bottle must of broke, but that meant that all of her books and parchment were sopping wet. "I just had to say it"


	6. Chapter 6

( Sorry about the wait for this chapter. I know it took awhile, but it's finally done! )

* * *

"You actually said that out loud?" Shannon was sitting at the Slytherin table, having her lunch with Stan and Jayden. When they asked why she was late, to which Stan had questioned if she was feeling alright. She explained what had happened to her in Defense Against the Dark Arts class, since they would probably of asked that anyways, and why she was actually late.

"Yes, although I dident meant to say it that loudly" She grumbled back at Jayden and gave a sigh. She really disliked Professor Reed, he seemed cold, and pretty judgmental. _Not that i'm much different. Were in the same house after all._ Shannon thought and shivered slightly at the thought of being similar to that pathetic excuse for a person. _  
_

Stan gave a small shrug. "We all say things we don't mean to, and don't worry, Professor Reed's hard on everyone" He smiled. And it was true, the professor did dislike most students, although he dident seem to mind Ravenclaw house that much. _Probably because we usually don't pester him as often._ He mentally added and focused his attention back on his friend.

She shook her head. "It's not that I dident mean to say it, it's just that I dident expect him to actually hear me" She drawled, not expecting Stan to understand the small amount of hatred she now harbored for her professor. "And besides, that test _was_ stupid. I doubt anyone in that room even knew half of the answers to it"

"She does have a point" Jayden agreed. "But that's Reed for you, he pushes everyone to hard, and he knows it. Not that he really cares enough to stop in the first place" He muttered, remembering his first detention with Reed. The professor had him write twenty pages of lines, all of them saying _"I will not curse in class again"_. By the time he had finished, it was nearly half past nine.**  
**

Stan nodded. "Yeah, Professor Reed is quite strict most of the time. But he might go easy on you seeing as you're a first year" He said, trying to assure her that she probably wouldn't have to do anything to outrageous. Then again, Professor Reed was hard to predict sometimes, so Stan wasent sure if he was right about that.

Shannon let out a small sigh under her breath. "I sure hope so" She muttered and turned back to her meal, hoping that Stan would be right about her quickly approaching detentions.

Much sooner than she would of liked, it was time for her next class, which meant more useless lectures from numb minded adults. "What a great way to start the school year" She quietly growled to herself as she once again took out her schedule to see what dreaded class she would be attending next. "Oh. . Maybe this class will be interesting" She absentmindedly said to herself and began to walk towards the entrance to the dungeons. "Then again, maybe not"

As she sat down in her last class of the day, she turned her attention up to the front of the classroom, where the professor was already standing, waiting for the last of the students to arrive. _If this guy is anything like Stan and Jayden said this morning, this class might actually be worse than Defense Against the Dark Arts._ She thought dreadfully and gave a sigh as she waited for the rest of the class to arrive.

Slowly, the class filled up, and the rather old looking professor standing at the front of the classroom spoke up. "Welcome to your Potions class here at Hogwarts. I will be your professor for this course, Professor Slughorn" The man said in a rather annoying voice. He seemed unusually cheerful about this, not that she could blame him.

Potions were interesting, after all, she found them to be quite intriguing. But sometimes she questioned the actual use of them. After all, some potions did have spell counterparts. Not all of them, but couldn't spells just be created in there place? _Well, I suppose potions can be useful in certain situations._ She thought and looked up as Slughorn began to speak again, but quickly stopped paying attention to him, as she realized that it was an explanation of the course. _Why do they even have to explain this? Of course were going to make potions in our Potions class, anyone who would think otherwise has neither the intelligence nor right to be here._ She inwardly scoffed to herself as the professor kept at his pointless droning.

After what seemed to be an eternity later, the professor ceased his talking and looked around at the class for a few moments. "Considering that we don't have enough time left to brew anything, I would like you to open your textbooks to page thirty and study that particular potion" He said, the small smile which had been plastered to his face from the beginning of the class still remaining as he walked back to his desk and began to look over some papers. _Hopefully retirement papers._ She thought spitefully as she got out her textbook and opened it to the instructed page, beginning to dully look over the potion that section was dedicated to.

Sometime later, which was probably enough time to actually brew something, the class was dismissed, and Shannon began to walk out of the Dungeons. Her destination, the Great Hall. She hoped that Reed would end up forgetting about her detention, or maybe let her go seeing as it was the first day of classes. She knew that neither of those were very likely to happen, but she could still hope.

Why did this have to happen to her? Were things always going to be like this here? _No, don't be so foolish._ She inwardly scoffed at herself as she walked down the dark hallways of the dungeons. _Thing's change, everything changes, you won't always be in this situation._ She thought to herself as she came to Professor Reed's office. Shannon paused at the door for a few moments before raising her hand and knocking on the old wooden door.

"Come in" Reed spat from the other side of the door, the annoyance in his tone almost like a snakes venom, sending a slight chill up her spine.

_He's just a professor, what's the worst he can do to_ me? Her inner voice rang out as she opened the door and calmly walked inside. She noticed a chair was sat across from Reed and he signaled for her to sit down. Giving a small sigh under her breath, she obeyed and walked up to her professors desk and sat down, wondering what it was he had planned for her.

After a few moments of silence, Reed spoke up. "Miss Epans" He hissed, giving the first year girl a glare. "I don't know why you said something of that manner in my class, but I do hope that it never happens again" He drawled and pushed a small tack of papers towards her. "Now then, you will begin by writing lines. Ten pages exactly" He sneered and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms as he watched her, wondering if she was going to protest.

Shannon gave a small sigh under her breath. Writing lines, there were worse thing's to be doing during detention, she was sure of that. "Yes professor" She quietly said after a few minuets and pulled her bag up to her lap, looking through it and pulling out her writing supplies before setting it down again. "What will I be writing professor?" She asked in a dull tone as she stared blankly down at her paper to avoid his cold gaze.

"I will not question my professor again" He said and watched as the first year girl began to write his spoken sentence. She was writing quite quickly as well. It had only been a minuet or so, and she was nearly done a third of the page, from what he could tell anyways. Her left arm was sat on the top of her paper and her head was bent down towards it, making it quite difficult to see her writing.

"Stop" Reed said after a few more seconds of this. As she looked up and her left arm moved fro the page, he snatched it away and began to look it over. Her writing was quite neat, very much so actually, and it bugged him a fair bit. Not so much her writing, but her attitude. Her behavior in class was much different that what her attitude had been so far, and he found that it was annoying him somewhat. _Useless brat, trying to make a fool out of me._ He thought and let out a grunt. "Continue" He hissed through his teeth and kept his cold gaze fixated on her as she began her work again.

About an hour later, Shannon's work was done. She had completed all of the pages she was assigned to write, despite her professor's efforts to keep her in longer. Half way through her writing or so, he had told her to stop and pointed out that the sheet's of parchment she had already written on hadn't been completed. When he inquired into this, he informed her that the papers were to be double sided.

Of course, he would only tell her such a thing after she was nearly at the half way point, and she was fully aware that he was trying to discourage her. But he couldn't, she wouldn't let him. Shannon had come here with one goal set in her mind, to make what little family she had proud of her. And no one would stop her from doing that, no matter who got in her way. Be it Reed, Headmistress McGonogall, or Stan and Jayden, she would not let her goal slip away from her.

Shannon put her thing's away and slid the small stack of papers towards him. She was about to ask if she had any further work to do, but she dident have the chance to even open her mouth before her professor spoke up.

"Go" Reed said in a calm tone and watched as his student stood and left his office. After she had gone, he gave a sigh and held his head in his hands as he leaned forward on his desk. Shannon was a confusing person, that he was certain of. First she insults his teaching methods in a most disrespectful manner, and when it's time for her punishment, she's calmer than anyone he had seen before.

But perhaps one of the thing's that bothered him most was the haunting familiarity she gave off. It was like he knew her from somewhere, like he had seen her before. Reed thought about this for awhile, and after some time, he gave a sigh. He had never seen that girl before in his entire life, so why did she seem so familiar? The only notable thing that stuck out in his mind were her eyes. Pitch black, like the color of a raven's feathers. And it wasent just the color that bugged him, it was their look. They were completely empty, devoid of all emotion with the exception of a spark of anger here and there.

Reed hadn't seen someone with such cold eyes in years, not since he was a boy attending this school. Not since his potion's professor, Severus Snape, but he was long gone, he had been dead for years. _Perhaps I am overlooking thing's again._ His mind rang out. It wouldn't of been the first time he had delved to deep into such small details before. Reed let out a small sigh under his breath as he stood up before exiting the small office and leaving for his private quarters. He had classes to teach tomorrow morning, he needed to rest.

Giving one last glance down the deserted corridors, he slipped into his chambers and retired for the night, hoping that those all but to familiar looking eyes wouldn't haunt his dreams as well.


End file.
